I really believe this is how you stay young. My dad is 75, has been self-employed for 40 years, and still works 40 hours a week. He loves it, and always says the challenges are his favorite part. He is so much younger than some people I know in their 50s, I constantly forget how old he actually is.

I think he might finally retire this year only because he wants to move closer to me, and help me open up a business in the next few years. It seems like a win-win, because I get all his years of expertise, and he gets to work with me as much or as little as he wants to, for as long as he wants to.

Shes not malicious, just a curious dumbass.

EDITED FOR CLARITY:

The problem is the cat is much smarter than any of your dogs. :dealwithit:
You are going to have to be a more clever trainer because you have a smarter student.


What you are training and what you think you are training are two different things.

Let's say you are the typical new dog owner and have a new puppy at home. You come home from work and the puppy runs to see you, wagging and happy. But the puppy has peed on the floor. So you dutifully drag the puppy over to the pee and make him smell it and say "No!" a few times. Next day when you come home and the puppy runs to see you he has peed again and you discipline him similarly. Third day the same thing. Fourth day the dog is no longer happy to see you come home and stops giving you love. The dog was not trained to avoid peeing on the floor, but to avoid it's owner when he arrives home from work. Each time the dog had peed it was hours before being "corrected" and drew no correlation between the two events.

The cat is on the counter all the time, by your account. Spraying the cat when you are present is teaching the cat to avoid you when you are near the sink. It draws no correlation between the counter top and negative stimuli. It is on the counter with impunity when you are not home and many times when you are home. The cat will just learn that you are hostile and should be avoided. You will therefore have a bad relationship with your kitty for no good reason. It is not that the cat is stupid. The cat is far smarter than you give credit. Be nice to the kitty.

The motion sensor is actually a fantastic idea that can offer negative stimuli in a consistent manner in relation to a particular behavior.

In my experience the cat on the counter eventually figures out that the punishment only comes when "you" are present and learns to commit the offense when you're not there. Harmony achieved. My current counter cat has yet to realize he makes a big thud when he hits the floor, but I don't believe an animal should be reprimanded if not in the act. Fortunately the only thing that seems to draw him to the counter (kitchen island) are flower arrangements (not food).

***Warning: long rambling backstory***

About 8 years ago, my family and I drove to Myrtle Beach. We stopped for the night at Smithfield, NC. We had a nice dinner, then went to bed. About midnight, I got up to pee, and felt a stabbing pain in my groin that dropped me to my knees. I have never felt such intense pain, and thought I had somehow been shot. The actual cause was much lass dramatic: kidney stones, the result of untreated high blood pressure, uncontrolled blood sugar and a slight bladder infection. I spent the night in a hospital, complete with urinary catheter. The next day they pumped me full of drugs and sent me on my way. Two weeks later, I was still having residual pain in my kidney, so my Dr. ordered a CT scan. At which point he discovered that my kidney was fine, but I had an abdominal aortic aneurysm. Basically, a bulge in the main artery from your heart to your major organs and legs. Mine is large and hourglass shaped. Pushing 5.2cm - normal is 2cm, and it's considered aneurysm at 3cm.

Since that time, I have had to undergo a ultrasound scan of the aorta, every six months. Not much more than mildly uncomfortable, and it gets me off work for a few hours (plus the techs are usually fairly attractive women). Then I meet with a vascular surgeon, and we talk about how much it has grown, and how long before it needs to be fixed. Well, the last scan I had was labeled "results inconclusive" by the ultrasound tech. Simply put, the numbers were too close to call with this type of scan. So, they sent me off for yet another CT scan. That was last week. Then the doctor called me. His first words to me were, "it's time". I won't bore anyone with the details of the surgery, but it's not like I have a choice. Something like 80% fatality if it ruptures, and something like 85% over 5.3cm will rupture. So, fix it or die.

I suppose I should be happy that they can repair this kind of stuff nowadays. But, instead, I'm at the stage right now where I'm kinda pissed off at the whole thing. I am mentoring a team in my son's robotic league, I planned on hunting this year for the first time in 6 years, and the holidays are approaching. I knew this was coming, but the timing probably couldn't be much worse. Anyway, surgical consult is Wednesday, where we will determine the type of surgery, timing and location.

^^ Sucks to be sure, but you certainly can't argue about the alternative scenario if it's not done. To my thinking, the absolute nature of it makes it all very simple; you do or die. What's to quibble about? :dunno: (Last I checked, dying is inconvenient too.)

That said, I wish you an uncomplicated surgery and speedy recovery!

I'm sorry to hear you are having health issues, but I am also certain you will put all this behind you after the surgery.
I mean, after a few surgeries I underwent myself I have so much confidence in medical procedures now, I could easily go for a head transplant if it was needed.

Go for it, the pain and inconvenience after the surgery is only temporary, but the years you'll be spending after that will be worth the discomfort.

Best of luck to you, man.

Good luck with the surgery, Roger.

The best advice I can give is to get procedures done at the biggest and best hospitals, even if you have to drive hours to get there. And get the surgeon who does a half dozen of this type of surgery every week instead of a half dozen times a year. You want someone who is well-practiced. Your insurance will be good in many different hospitals.

There's no convenient time to get it done, but there's also no convenient time to rupture your aorta. Don't fear the procedure. Move quickly and prevent greater harm. I'm praying for you.

Hoping for the best with the procedure @rleete. No doubt you'll get a fatter deer next year.

Surgery sucks, but usually not as much as not surgery. In my case, the alternative is usually been crippling disability, rather than death (except for the last two times. But even then, a much less dramatic death than aortic rupture. )

On an unrelated note, a woman just boarded the airplane wearing a button which read "Nasty woman." I agree completely with her assessment.

Hey, none of this lingering on/wasting away crap for me. Quick exit stage left. Lights out, show's over.

But like the guy in the Monty Python sketch says, "I'm not dead yet."

Sometimes I get a Darjeeling. I get a Darjeeling like I never ever ever had before. I get a Darjeeling.

Came home from a 4 day vacation to find cat shit in front of my bedroom door. We don't have a cat...... Our lease agreement says no pets inside also. I think we may be looking for a new roommate soon. :facepalm:

Your roommate is bringing cat shit into the house and leaving it outside your bedroom?

That's really weird.

Very peculiar, captain.

He also like to play audio of a cat meowing at random times during the night. It's very strange.

Is this your roommate?

Nothing like fielding some tech questions from Koenigsegg to start your Tuesday morning. "some guys from Sweden are on line 2". :giggle:

Seems mechanical valvetrain isn't entirely off their plate yet.

I can think of worse things. :D

You jinxed me.

There's a guy from Florida who I can only understand every 4th word. Bitched me out a month ago saying the crankshaft timing belt pulley on our 2nd most popular application is too long/places belt too far forward, and we need to remove .080 from our crank pulleys. Sent me a screenshot of 'proof' the internets know about it and it's a common problem. Screenshot was describing something completely different on another application (adding silicone to ID to help seal out oil, not machining pulley mating surface to move it back). He just left a message saying the belt contacted the block and shreaded. Perhaps he thinks I don't remember the last conversation.